Young TikTok stars are doing everything they can to get more views than their competitors. Some people may be taking the TikTok trend too far because they’ve been filing down their teeth to achieve the “perfect smile.” Although few people think their teeth look good after the at-home procedure, dentists have a dire warning for these young TikTok influencers – they’re going to be forced to wear dentures by the time they are forty if they don’t stop filing their teeth down to the nubs.
These influencers are filing their teeth down to small pegs so they can get veneers placed onto their teeth. Some of these youngsters are going all the way and getting full sets of crowns placed onto their teeth. This expensive procedure does not last long and requires replacement every ten to fifteen years.
“She’s going to have dentures by the age of 40,” Dr. Shaadi Manouchehri, a London-based dentist, wrote in a comment about one of these so-called “veneer” blogs that are super popular on the TikTok platform.
Compared to veneers, full-coverage crowns require a lot more prep work for the teeth. Because of this, dentists do not recommend children or young people get them. The preparatory work requires the teeth to get shaved down to nubs so the crown can be placed over it. Nevertheless, young people eager to become TikTok famous are willing to do almost anything to get more views on the Chinese-created platform.
“These are not veneer preparations,” Dr. Emi Mawson, a Cornwall-based dentist, warned her thousands of TikTok followers about the growing number of “veneer” vlogs. “These are crown preparations, and there’s a big difference.”
Influencers do not really care about the health and wellness of their followers. They just do whatever it takes to gain fame and fortune at their followers’ expense. Because of this lack of empathy and caring for followers, dentists are coming forward to warn young people about the life-changing consequences of going through an invasive dental procedure like these.
Knowing the difference between veneers and crowns could protect people from causing lasting damage to their teeth.
Although crowns and veneers are terms used interchangeably, they are very different dental procedures. Influencers on TikTok do not seem to care about accuracy in their displays when sharing with fans.
“When you get veneers, most of your tooth is still there, only a little bit is shaved off,” Dr. Zainab Mackie, a Detroit-based dentist, said on TikTok. “When you get crowns, your teeth are shaved down to little pegs.”
Veneers usually require a tooth to be shaved down only half a millimeter to prepare it for a porcelain or composite covering. Some veneers do not require any preparatory work.
However, crowns require extensive preparation. These require that several millimeters of irreplaceable enamel be shaved off the tooth.
“This is only done if there were cavities to take out or the teeth were already broken,” Dr. Mackie added.
“That’s gonna be like $20,000 every ten years, not to mention when you get a cavity,” Dr. Ben Winters, an Arkansas-based Orthdonist, said in a TikTok.
The lesson: Don’t believe everything that’s posted on TikTok.